It's All about Jesus

And this is the name by
which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”

Jeremiah 23:6

Throughout the Bible, a name had great significance, much more than in our western culture. God also revealed Himself through different names. For example, to Moses He said: “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name LORD [Jehovah] I did not make myself known to them” (Ex. 6:3). Moses received an additional revelation of who God is through one of His names.

Today, we have another one of God’s revealed names: “The LORD is our righteousness.” He has revealed Himself as such. While in the Old Testament the significance of that name may not have been as obvious, in the New Testament it’s a major theme.

When we consider Jesus as our righteousness, we normally do so from a positional perspective. Though His righteous life and sacrificial death, we have been justified. That means that we have been declared righteous because His righteous life has been freely deposited in our account.

That’s only one side of the coin, though. Jesus is also our practical righteousness. The best and easiest way to understand this is His illustration of the vine and the branch: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus is the immediate cause of all our right thinking, feeling, speaking, and doing: “All my springs are in you” (Ps. 87:7).

When do you think God answered these two prayers? No doubt, those who prayed these recorded prayers have been the recipient of God’s showing and granting. An important question is: on what basis did He answer these pleas? Ultimately, God answered these prayers when Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

For example, when David had committed adultery and arranged Uriah’s murder, he received immediate forgiveness for his sins: “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Sam. 12:13). Even though God’s law states that both sins are capital crimes, David was forgiven.

On what basis was he forgiven? Paul gave us the answer: “Whom [Jesus] God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins” (Rom. 3:25), including the ones David had committed. Every forgiven sin has a beeline to the cross. There’s no forgiveness apart from Jesus’ sacrificial death. The same is true with all answered prayer.

At the cross, God’s showed His steadfast love and granted His salvation. Every instance of His love toward us and His saving work in and through us is grounded in the greatest reality in history. That means that every answered prayer was obtained at the cross. They have been blood-bought, paid with a very high price. That’s why praying in Jesus’ name is to ask the Father to answer for the sake of His Son—for the sake of His finished work.

A few days ago, we considered Jesus as “the Lamb of God” and “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” While the first one is more so associated with His first coming, suffering for our sins, and the second one with His second coming, conquering His enemies, He’s one and the same person.

He was as much “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” during His earthly ministry, as He is now still “the Lamb of God.” While the Bible does make a distinction between them, we must see these two seemingly different aspects as perfectly united in one person. The same is true with today’s verse.

God has abundantly revealed both His kindness and severity. We must acknowledge both. Our own bias has a tendency to emphasize one over the other, but that would be an undermining of “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), which is ultimately the expression of the wholeness of Christ.

He who said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28), has also said, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:16).

What about you? Do you note both “the kindness and the severity of God”? It’s so easy to only emphasize His kindness. Even His current severity, though is meant to lead us to repentance: “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Ps. 2:10-12).

I will be a pledge of his
safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you
and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.

Genesis 43:9

Throughout
church history, some Christians have interpreted the Bible in an allegorical
manner—reading things into the Bible that it simply doesn’t state or even imply.
Such interpretation assumes that the Bible has different levels of meaning,
even to the point of denying the plain, obvious meaning.

When we have a historical recorded fact like the one from yesterday or today, I’m not denying the accuracy of what happened. Not at all! I also don’t believe that there are hidden meanings that only a few can know. What I do want to stress is that nothing is independent from God as either our Creator, Provider, Savior, or Judge. There’s always a connection to Him.

For example, today’s story happened just as it is recorded. There’s no hidden spiritual meaning behind it. Nevertheless, there’s a beautiful picture of Jesus. Judah was about to take Benjamin to Egypt in order to buy more food amidst the famine. While Jacob didn’t want to let him go, he realized he had no choice. In order to assure his father that his younger brother would return, Judah took full responsibility for him, including bearing the blame if he didn’t bring him back to his father.

The same is true with Jesus. He has taken full responsibility for our salvation. What if He loses one of God’s children along the way? Wouldn’t He be blamed? That will never happen! In the end, He will say: “Behold, I and the children God has given me” (Heb. 2:13). He’ll bring us safely home!

And for her sake he dealt
well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female
servants, female donkeys, and camels.

Genesis 12:16

Paul
wrote that God’s invisible attributes, “namely, his eternal power and divine
nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in
the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:20). David wrote: “The heavens declare
the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out
speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” (Ps. 19:1-2).

Creation reveals and declares God. For example, Jesus used “the birds of the air” and “the lilies of the field” to illustrate God’s care (see Matt. 6:26-30). There’s always a connection to God as Creator, Provider, Savior, or Judge.

The same is true with history. There isn’t an event within the recorded pages of history that’s unrelated and independent from our Creator. That includes two of the most dreadful events in the Bible—Jesus’ sufferings and Job’s calamities. Both state God’s active involvement.

Today, we have a simple recorded history fact. Yet, it has the kernel of a profound truth. The only reason why Pharaoh dealt well with Abram was because of Sarai. Apart from her, he may have well considered Abram as a significant threat or treated him as an outcast.

The same is true for us. God’s favorable dealings with us are always for Christ’s sake. We’ve never enjoyed any blessing or benefit apart from Him. That’s why we’re also called to pray in His name. History has a far more significant revelation of God than we realize or can comprehend.